Improvement in molds for casting ingots



u. r os flzn & w. LOOKWOOD.

Molds for Casting ingots.

I Patentod lgn.

useless.

UNITED STATES;

DAVID FOSTER AND WILLIAM LooKwooD, 0F SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND. I

PATENT OFFICE.

IMPROVEMENT l NMOLDZS FOR CASTING INGOTS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 158,696, dated January 12, 1875; application filed May 29, 1874.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, DAVID Fos'rER and WILLIAM LocKwooD, both of Sheffield, in the county of York, England, iron founders, have invented certain Improvements in Molds for Casting Crucible, Bessemer, and other Steel ingots, of which the following is a specificaion: 1

Hitherto the molds employed for casting steel ingots have generally been made solid, or in one piece only; but attempts have been inade to form them in two or more parts, havmg corresponding lugs cast on the different segments of the mold; and the various parts or segments have been securely held together by passing bolts through, the lugs, and having either taper cotters passing through .theends. of the bolts or nuts screwedon, so as to draw the joints of the segmental moldclosely together. I

When secured as described there is no possibility of the parts or segments of the mold yielding to the expansive force of the to a severe strain, the result being that the castings crack or. the lugs of the mold are broken off, rendering it wholly or partially To overcome this difiiculty the ingot-molds have been madeof soft gray iron; but these are liabled to be burnt into by the hot steel, and the latter to fasten itself in the molds. Either a. solid mold or a longitudinally-split one, (that is, a mold formed in sections, arranged to provide for lateral expansion,) to which latter'description of mold our invention relates, if made of white hard iron, soon breaks from the expansion of the fluid metal. Our. invention, however, which consists. in a combination, with the longitudinally-divided mold,

of springs, arranged to provide for the lateral expansion of the mold-sections relatively with each other, allows us to use hard or chilled not, which is much more durable than soft gray iron; or the bottom part, or the whole interior of the mold, may be cast upon a chill;

and we prefer to use such a mixture of iron that the chill will not be white and deep, but simply insure closeness of grain and hardness to the interior of the mold.

for casting steel ingots may be of parallel, taper, or other form, with a plain parallel as shown in the drawings hereunto. annexed, and having lugs, with a small recess in the sides, facing each other, so that by our improved method of fastening the segments we are able to bring the parallel joints closely and firmly together. This we accomplish by of the mold, with corresponding holes, through -whieh bo ts. .lzarelnassed,anit e bolts r shown. I

Now, in order to counteract the expansive mold a or the lugs a, we introduce a sufficiently-ston g spring, a, under the head of each bolt b, the springs 42 causing the mold to adapt itself to the expansive force of the 'molten metal.

By thus removing the strain from the mold to the springs for keeping the partsof the mold in close contact, we are enabled to use a much stronger iron'iin casting the mold, and byso doing'we run far less risk of the molten metal of the ingot eating into the mold and fastening itself therein. I

The springs c, for holding together the mold segments or sections composing the longitndinally-divided molds, allow of the lateral expansion of the mold as far as may be required;

coming chilled by contact with the inner surthrough the parallel,-plane, or other joints to a of the mold, although-they may be slightly opened by the expansive force of the molten steel. or other like metal.-

Another advantage obtained by the application of the springs 0 orother elastic fasten- According to our improvements the molds joint, or otherwise, at the diagonal corners,

having the lugs a cast on the segments a a secured by cotters, (elastic or otherwise,) as

force of the molten metal from injuring the and, as is well known, the molten metal, be-

face of the mold, the metal will not run ing to the molds is, that the inside of the mold-sections, substantially as and for the mold may be made parallel, and then castiron stoppers, filling the mold exactly, may be used, and the ingot stopped at any point, as may be desired.

We claim- In an open-topped mold divided longitudinally for casting steel ingots, and having lugs a a, the combination of the bolts b and the spring 0 arranged upon the bolts, for permitting the lateral expansion of the purpose described.

DAVID FOSTER. WILLIAM LOGKWOOD. Witnesses:

WM. UNWIN, Clerk to William Edward Tattershall,

. of Sheflield, Attorney at Law. 4 T. T. ROWLEY, Goldthorpe Place, Sheflield, Gentleman. 

